Need help from Linus in choosing a monitor to play Xbox and PS3 on.

[darc]

I would very much like to buy a 23-inch or larger computer monitor that is true 120 hz, 1920x1080 resolution, very low input-lag for maximum responsiveness in gaming, has built-in speakers, and has enough inputs to play my Xbox and PS3 on; I am not interested in PC gaming. I have an HP 2310m that I play on, and it works pretty well and has low input-lag. I use an HDMI cable for my PS3 and a VGA cable for my Xbox 360. However, it does put some strain on my eyes and sometimes gives me headaches due to motion-blur. I've seen what games and movies can look like at 120hz and it is amazing! It looks ultra-smooth and even sort of like real life. I really want to be able to play my games and watch movies at 120hz, but all of the monitors that I've found have all sorts of extra expensive 3D contraptions that come with them. They also don't specify whether or not you could play an Xbox or PS3 on them and enjoy 120hz, 1080p gaming. I am not interested in 3D in the slightest, and I don't want to have to pay for extra 3D stuff that I can't and won't use. I would love it if you could recommend a monitor or explain if there is even such a monitor in existence. My price range is 300$-500$. Thank you for your time, Linus!

[Linus]

Hi Darc,

I'm going to give it to you straight. If you like the 120Hz that you see on the TV demos at the stores, then you will not actually get any benefit from a 120Hz LCD monitor (a true 120Hz one). They are actually VERY different technologies.

The "120Hz" TVs are inserting a black frame between every image frame in order to appear smoother with a 60Hz input. The 120Hz monitors that accept a true 120Hz input are displaying 120 frames per second. The problem with that for you is that your Xbox and your PS3 are not outputting 120Hz signals, so your fancy 120Hz monitor will not get any additional data and it will only display at 60Hz.

You want a TV, not a monitor, and unfortunately that is not my area of expertise :(